DragonSword: Awakening hands you a full roster of heroes over time, but not all at once, and the order is yours to decide. Because there is no gacha and no random pulls, every character you want is earned through play and claimed with tickets. That makes your first few unlocks a real choice worth thinking about rather than a roll of the dice.
Quick answer: Spend your earliest tickets on the hero that matches how you like to fight. Charlotte suits stealth and poison, Theresia is a fast bleed-and-stun DPS, Reina is a combo-heavy crowd controller, Kalien is a fire mage, and Dana is an ice summoner with a defensive golem.
How character unlocks work
Heroes join your team through two paths. Some are added automatically as you clear main quests and meet them in the story. The rest are recruited using tickets, called Fate’s Invitation, which is the only currency that unlocks new characters.
To spend a ticket, open the Exchange menu. It lists every locked and unlocked hero, and you simply pick who you want. There is no fixed sequence, so the roster you build depends entirely on your playstyle. Your first ticket arrives after finishing the Prologue, which takes roughly 15 minutes, and you earn another each time you complete a chapter.
You can also pull extra tickets from Hero Quests, special missions tied to specific characters. These stay locked until you progress far enough into the story, then reward tickets on top of a character’s exclusive Karma piece. A ticket works the same no matter how you earn it.
Tip: Chapter lengths vary, so hold a spare ticket or two rather than spending the moment you get one. That way you can grab a hero the instant you decide you want them.
Best characters to unlock first
Each hero applies distinct Status Ailments that feed the tag-team combo system, so a good early pick is one whose combat feel you enjoy and whose ailments you can chain. Here are five strong options for your opening tickets.
Charlotte
Charlotte plays like a stealth assassin. She can turn invisible and drop decoy clones to confuse enemies, then strike with quick dagger combos that stack poison. Her clone can detonate for a burst of surprise damage, which makes her a slippery, high-pressure pick for players who like hit-and-run tactics.
Theresia
Theresia is one of the most satisfying pure DPS heroes at launch. She wields a lightning-fast flail in each hand and whips them into long combo chains that stun and inflict bleed. Once she gets going, enemies on the receiving end struggle to break free of the barrage.
Reina
If you came from character action games like Devil May Cry, Reina will feel right at home. She fights with a sword, strikes fast, and excels at crowd control. She juggles enemies in the air, keeps ground foes staggered, and tears through armor to set up big combo openings.
Kalien
Kalien is the pick for mage fans who like things loud. She specializes in fire, hammering enemies with fire blasts and summoning fiery foxes that home in and explode. Those blasts also stagger targets, giving her real crowd-control value alongside her damage.
Dana
Dana is built for a summoner or beast-master style. She is an ice caster who calls in a large ice golem to pound enemies and shield her at the same time. While the golem works, she keeps up the pressure with her wand, making her a strong pick if you like fighting alongside a durable minion.
Early picks compared
| Hero | Playstyle | Status Ailments |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Stealth assassin with poison and clones | Airborne, Stun |
| Theresia | Fast dual-flail DPS | Bleed, Stun |
| Reina | Sword combo crowd control | Stun, Knockdown |
| Kalien | Fire mage and stagger | Fire, Stun |
| Dana | Ice summoner with golem support | Airborne, Fire |
Confirming a hero joined your team
After you spend a ticket in the Exchange, the chosen hero moves from the locked list to your unlocked roster and can be added to your active team right away. Story-based heroes appear automatically once you meet them during a quest, so if a character you expected has not shown up yet, keep progressing the main story until that scene plays.
Because there is no randomness, you never pull duplicates and never miss out. If you unlock a character and later change your mind about their Karma reward, you can dismantle it for currency and an exclusive point, then trade that point in the Exchange toward another hero’s Karma. Nothing you earn is wasted, so plan your tickets around the fighter you most want to lead your team.
DragonSword: Awakening is a buy-to-play release available on Steam, where a single purchase unlocks all 19 launch heroes through play with no paywalled characters.
